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Dark Elf
Back to Races ---- Buildings ''Dark Tower'' Dark Towers are dissatisfying large buildings. Fortunately though, they don't offer much that would provoke a need for more of them. The Runes don't really delay tiring and only a single new rune per level becomes available, allowing you to steadily research them without being overwhelmed, and Wisps can't be sent to the mines, so you wont be spamming them. Although Wisps can become Ancient Wisps, producing them between keep upgrades is more than adequate. Due to the building's large size and long view range, it can keep a watchful eye out for pesky opportunists that have found a gap in your defenses. ''Tree of Pain'' Tree of Pains produce all Dark Elven units and therefore nearly all units available to the Dark Elf race. This makes the Tree of Pain the common production building, and so it's a good thing that these buildings are about average in size, as you really will be building many of them. They are also cheap and durable, too, with their only sub-par stat being their poor 5 view range - which doesn't even matter. Finally, since all units produced from the Tree of Pain are all 1x1 footprint sized and the building has a very simple shape, you don't even need to put much care into how close you place these buildings together. ''Tomb'' Although Tombs produce three different units, you probably wont be building more than a couple of them. This is because the three units they produce aren't exactly game defining - they do have their uses, but more situational or novelty than practical. Despite this, you'll end up with at least one Tomb as the skill trio "Dark Ward" is fantastic. Not only does the improved resistance it offers make your units (and Hero!) physically tougher against elemental attacks, but it also makes them more resilient against psyche effects and illnesses, too. ''Gravestone'' Gravestones produce only Skeletons, which by being produced from their own building can free up the building queues for your Tombs, assuming that you plan on using Skeletons. Unlike Undead, the Dark Elves can't get much use out of Skeletons and must rely on their missile fodder role to have any need of them. However, as Skeletons are produced rather quickly making only a couple of buildings necessarily to mass them, unless you plan on producing Spiders / Queen Spiders along with them, then you wont need to build Gravestones at all. ''Gallery'' Galleries are small and cheap, research only three upgrades, produces no units nor is it required for the production of units else where. As such, you'll only ever need one of these and even if it gets knocked down, as long as you've obtained the researches from it, then you wont even need to rebuild it. This makes them ideal to be pushed into the corner of your base that's somewhere out of the way. ''Brood'' As the Dark Elves cannot fill mines early game (without starting with Sorcerors), they depend heavily on mine capturing and thus map control. Like all Elves, the Dark Elves have access to a basic flier than can greatly help them with this task via its ability to convert - the Phoenix. Because of this, you may find yourself building a Brood or two as soon as you hit tier 2. Come tier 4 and you'll still find yourself producing Phoenixes and, even though Harpies can be useful under certain circumstances, they are situational at best, usually leaving you with no need to upgrade the Broods just yet. Once tier 5 rolls around and you can start producing Dragons, you also have access to the Dark Elf General - the Blackguard. This reduces the dependence on Phoenixes but as they can fly, you may still wish to produce these over Blackguards for quicker (but not safer) map control. As such, you'll then start to need more Broods to help continue production when the Dragons starting clogging up the build queues. ''Reformatory'' Up until tier 3 the Dark Elves wouldn't have had any way to fill their mines, unless they started the game with any Sorcerors. The Reformatory offers one of two ways obtained at tier 3 for the Dark Elves to produce mine fillers, and arguably the better of the two. Once the Slavehorde skill has been researched, the Reformatory can "summon" up to 10 Thralls immediately, which can then be sent to over-populate a mine. Since the ability has no time delay to be used again, you can then just re-cast it and have enough Thralls to fill all of your mines then and there! At this point the gameplay changes, matching that of the typical races of the game, but yet still maintain the extra map control from Phoenixes and extra crystal income through Ancient Wisps. If you didn't start the game with any Sorcerors, or simply lost them over time before you could get all your mines filled, then the Reformatory should be the first building to build when you hit tier 3, and even worth speeding through the tiers to get. The building itself is similar to the Tree of Pain in the sense that it's cheap, yet durable and not even that big - about average in size if not smaller. Still, only one of these is really ever needed, but the Slavehorde ability still give it use once all the researches have been had. ''Void'' The Void is a research building that doubles as a very sturdy defensive structure, comically out-performing some race's main towers. The building even offers a lot of researches that encourages you to build more of them to obtain those skills in good time. They are also small in size, almost matching that of a normal tower. With its high defensive stats, respectable offense and dirt cheap cost, one could argue that the Void is broken! However, they cannot be garrisoned and interesting, they don't stop defeat, meaning your foes wont need to destroy them to vanquish you from the game. These two factors may help "balance" them, but regardless, they do certainly help defend your base and should be built in masses to support the main Dark Elf Towers, which are naturally frail. ''Kargothian Gate'' As you would expect from its name, the Kargothian Gate produces their Dark Elf titan - Kargoth. Other than that, it doesn't really do much. Imps without the Daemon upgrades aren't very good late game and the Meditation skills only have any use of spell casting Heroes who can't cast a spell at their highest level with 100% success. The building itself is large, costs quite a bit and is among the Dark Elves list of most fragile buildings. Something else to think about is that Kargoth isn't even that strong for a Titan. With all things in consideration, there is no rush to build a Kargothian Gate. That is not to say you should never build one, Kargoth is still a Titan after all, and so is still a powerful unit. Interesting note: The Kargothian Gate is Internally referred to as Aranean Gate. It looks like Kargoth wasn't originally planned to be the star of the Dark Elves. ''Spider Eggs'' Spider Eggs are never directly built, but instead are immediately created by Queen Spiders after once they kill an enemy unit. After a while, they will automatically destroy themselves, spawning up to four Spiders for your army. These spawned Spiders are affected by the same army limit as the rest of your army. So if you have reached said limit, then no Spiders will be spawned when the building destroys itself. Spider Eggs pre-placed on a map will never hatch. ''Tower (Dark Elf) Comparatively to other towers, Dark Elf towers sacrifice hit points for more damage, as well as an elemental attack type. Unfortunately, they sacrifice a lot of hit points! This usually results in the towers falling far too easy and can even be destroyed outright by a single blast from a Titan's Ring of Fire death explosion. They also cost a lot, too, which when combined with the constant need to repair them, they can simply cost too much to be cost-effective. They do pack an incredibly powerful fire attack, though, which not only by-passes missile resistant units, but also can burn down buildings that the AI thought would be a good idea to build within its missile range. Further more, the Dark Elves have access to other missile types that can garrison the the towers, giving them broad options on how to prepare their defense, not to mention also having access to magic type attacks from another building entirely. However, as hinted above, these towers aren't the only defensive structure that the Dark Elves have access to, the other one being the Void which boasts for more hit points (more than any non-starting tower in the game!) and cheaper to build and thus cheaper to maintain. Because of this, Voids should be built as the first defense against enemy attackers, with these towers positioned behind them - garrisoned with missile units to help reach over the Voids. But of course, doing this means your defenses essentially only ever have a missile range of 12, as Voids can't be garrisoned. Still, Voids plus the raw power and attack type customisation of the Dark Elf towers can make for a fantastic defense. Units Tier 1 ''Wisp - Elven Builder Wisps are very weak builders that are used for the Elven races. Four Wisps can merge together and form an Ancient Wisp at cost of 100 crystal, but only after researching the skill with the same name at tier 2. Unlike other builder units, Wisps cannot be put into mines. ''Spider - Basic Dark Elf Infantry'' A weak but fast melee unit capable of inflicting Poison at a very respectable strength. They do, however, only cost stone for production and are produced quickly. This allows you to field them along side a more potent attack force without much resource competition and can be done quickly. ''Skeleton - Undead Missile Fodder'' Skeletons are inferior to Dark Infantry for combat but it's the Skeleton's missile resistance that makes it worth producing. This allows it to sponge common piercing missile attacks seen from both archers and towers, allowing the rest of your army to advance towards the enemy without fear of being shot down before they make combat. ''Dark Infantry - Basic Dark Elf Infantry'' Dark Infantry are decent melee units that excel at destroying Dwarves. Unfortunately, they don't get any upgrades as the game goes on, other than the Dark Ward that affects all Dark Elven units. This leaves them unable to scale along side most enemy infantry and their effectiveness drastically drops from tier to tier. ''Dark Archer - Dark Elf Missile Unit'' Dark Archers are comparable to Gladewardens and Longbowmen. They are cheap to produce and their arrows can inflict Poison as well as being up-gradable to deal fire damage - allowing them to take down even buildings with relative ease. Building many of these as soon as possible makes a good defense for your base, especially with archery upgrades. Tier 2 ''Ancient Wisp - Advanced Elven Builder/Missile Unit'' Ancient Wisps are a good source of Crystal income to all Elven races. They can construct buildings and act as a decent missile unit when they must be used. They have average toughness and are a bit of a jack of all trades. Their weakness to physical attacks means they should not be regularly used or depended upon in battles, rather, just keep producing them and gain more Crystal. ''Dark Rider - Dark Elf Cavalry'' While its stats may seem unremarkable, the Dark Rider can act as a specialist Assassin designed to decimate Heroes. Compared to its other Elven equivalents, it outperforms Woodriders but is bested by the Dragon Knight. It is also quite expensive for what it does and can't just be thrown at the enemy - it will require specific planning for use. ''Queen Spider - Basic Dark Elf Infantry'' Queen Spiders are dangerous melee units which should not be left unchecked. Having a few of these attack your weakest troops or builders can lead to an infestation of regular Spiders which, although weak, can rapidly spread Poison among your troops. They aren't tough to kill but are quick and have an even stronger Poison than the standard Spiders, ensuring that even the victor that slain them wont be feeling too well after the confrontation. ''Phoenix - Basic Flier'' Their combat capabilities may be underwhelming but their ability to convert buildings can really give you an edge over your enemy. Normally you would have to rely on your Hero or General, but being produced at tier 2 allows the Phoenix to take on this task while your Hero attends to other matters. Flocks of these can give you almost complete map control. Tier 3 ''Sorceror - Advanced Dark Elf Spellcaster'' Much like other Elven spellcasters, the Sorceror can decimate large hordes of enemies with its offensive spell, in this case, Pillar of Fire. They can also raise Zombies to fill mines, although at this point in the game, you also have access to Slavehorde for the exact same purpose. However, Sorcerors can be taken into battle at the very start of the game, allowing them to raise Zombies and thus fill mines at tier 1. They do cost a lot, though, and have a very long build time. This can make it very difficult to get a large formation of them into the field. ''Zombie - Undead Builder'' The Dark Elves really have only one use for Zombies - mine filling. In terms of building, Wisps and simply far serpeior in both build skill and movement speed. Zombies cannot actually be produced by the Dark Elves but instead of raised by their Sorcerors. Typically this means you would only have access to Zombies, the Dark Elf mine fillers, at tier 3, which is also the same time when Dark Elves get access to Slavehorde to summon Thralls. However, Sorcerors can be taken into battle at the start of the game, allowing the Dark Elf player to start raising Zombies even in tier 1! This is a great asset to Dark Elves, who normally would have to rely on raw mine capturing or tier 3 to start increasing their resource income. ''Thrall - Primitive Builder'' At tier 3 the Dark Elves can obtain Thralls from the Reformatory via the Slavehorde skill. As they are "summoned" in batches of 10, you can instantly fill a mine to its maximum capacity, and even have some left over. Unless the Dark Elf player started the game with Sorcerors, who could raise Zombies, the Thralls arrival would be heroically welcomed as their presence now means the Dark Elves have a way to stuff mines for a faster resource income. Thralls can also build, but as their building skill is inferior to Wisps, they shouldn't be used for this role. In addition to mine filling, Thralls can also be used as a cheap source of "sacrificial" units. ''Spider Priestess - Advanced Dark Elf Spellcaster'' Spider Priestesses are generally stronger than Sorcerors in terms of stats. They are, however, slower and have a shorter range, as well as lacking any powerful offensive spells which is the true power of the Sorceror. Instead, Spider Priestesses specialty revolves around Spiders - where they can summon Queen Spiders into play and turn into six regular Spiders upon death. Although the Spiders aren't the best units available to the Dark Elves, being able to instantly summon them for free from a relatively cheap unit is sure to make the Spider Priestess useful. ''Daemon - Advanced Daemonic Flying Infantry'' Daemons are very powerful flying units that can summon Imps, cause havoc and generally be annoying to your opponent. They are capable of laying waste to most units and, thanks to its flying ability, it is possible for them to destroy enemy units without being impeded by many grounded threats. Their resistance, armor and hits are all very good, allowing them to sponge many attacks from anti-flying units. The ability to summon Imps can be very useful as they can act as a screen to protect the Daemons or for that little bit of extra valuable cold damage. Although all races con produce Daemons from an Infernal Temple, the Dark Elves can summon Daemons through another means - Sacrifice. Once this skill has been researched in tier 3, the Dark Elf player can select their units and sacrifice their souls in the chance that a Daemon will appear. Although this costs crystal and the more units selected at once further increases this crystal cost, it also increases the chance of a Daemon being summoned. As even Thralls can be summoned, you can group a large amount of them together (for a near perfect 100% chance of summoning) and essentially "purchase" a Daemon for a much cheaper cost than you would if you were to produce one normally from an Infernal Temple. Tier 4 ''Imp - Daemonic Flying Missile Unit'' Imps are inexpensive and relatively fragile flying missile units. Low hits and armor mean that it cannot take much damage before being slain, especially by archers. Their resistance however, is much higher, allowing them to take more damage from elemental attacks. Alone, Imps are little more than a pest. In a large enough group though, they can rip through many enemy units and bases with ease, partially thanks to their dangerous cold damage type. The Dark Elves can obtain Imps through the Kargothian Gate or by being summoned via a Daemon. ''Assassin - Advanced Dark Elf Infantry'' Like their name implies, Assassins are capable of assassinating enemies. They are powerful in that sense and are very fast and have an obscenely strong Poison - the strongest in the entire game. However, they are very ineffective against buildings and fall quickly to towers. Luckily, they are cheap to produce and, with a few assassination blows, they pay for themselves. Dark Infantry don't scale well but you can effectively replace them with Assassins. ''Harpy - Advanced Flier'' The Dark Elves have access to a lot of Poison dealing units, some of which are the strongest in the game. Harpies can be used to rid enemy healing-spellcasters of mana, preventing them from being able to cure them or their fellow allies of the illness, allowing it to sink in that bit longer. The Harpies Drain Mana spell can also be used on more offensive enemy spellcasters that pose a large threat to the fragile Dark Elven units. However, Harpies aren't particularly too adapt for taking on such units and require flocks of them to pull of their abilities. But once achieved, you can then swamp the enemy with Spiders, Skeletons, Assassins and Dark Archers without the fear of having them all wiped out by spells akin to Call Lightning or Ring of Fire. Tier 5 ''Blackguard - Dark Elf General'' Blackguards are generals designed for spying or hit and run attacks. They perform well in most senses but are physically weaker compared to something like a Giant. However, they only take up one of your army points and could be produced en masse for a powerful infantry force. Although with a two minute production time, it will take a while to form. Also, while undocumented in game, they are capable of inflicting Poison. ''Storm Dragon - Elite Flier'' The Dark Elves can use Storm Dragons like an uber Harpy - provoking enemy spellcaster to use their magic immediately or run the risk of loosing it altogether. Unlike Harpies, Storm Dragons can withstand a lot of punishment, allowing them to take every non-Hero spell in the game. As the Dark Elves have quite a lot of fragile infantry that can't afford to take some multi-hitting spells, the Storm Dragon can come in and save the day - even it it falls in the process. Interestingly, the Storm Dragon works great along side the Dark Elves other Dragon choice - the Dragonliche. With the Dragonliche being resistant to psychical projectiles, the enemy would want to focus elemental attacks against it, almost all of which come from spellcasters which the Storm Dragon can drive away. With some clever play with both Dragon types (or / and a large flock of Harpies instead / with the Storm Dragon) and you can make your already difficult to take down Dragonliche nigh unstoppable. ''Dragonliche - Elite Flier'' The Dragonliche has always been a monster to deal with, more so than any other Dragon. Although the Dark Elves have access to other missile fodder units (Skeletons and Spiders), the Dragonliche can simply ruin anyone's day. With a Dragonliche spearheading the Dark Elven assault drawing fire away from their units, the otherwise fragile Dark Elven race will stay around much longer. However, the Dragonliche isn't indestructible and the enemy can take it down with elemental attacks with the same effort as taking down any other Dragon. Although elemental missile units are much rarer, you still don't want your incredibly expensive unit pried upon as easy as something much cheaper. And this is where Harpies and the Dark Elves second Dragon choice, the Storm Dragon, can help out. Most elemental missile units come from spellcasters who the two unit types specialize in debilitating, allowing the Dragonliche to maintain its focus on drawing typical missile fire towards it and away from the rest of the Dark Elven army. ''Kargoth - Dark Elf Titan'' Kargoth is quite possibly the worst Titan in the game. (We're not off to a very good start, are we?) His stats are overall much lower than all other Titans, his attack type is poor for a ranged attack and his death explosion is the weaker Rings of Ice. (Note: The Rings of Ice aren't actually weaker than the fire counterparts, but as buildings are weak to fire it makes the Rings of Fire the superior one as they can level buildings in a large area around them.) Kargoth isn't all bad, though, he does have one thing going for him over the other Titans, and even many units in the game - his speed. With a high speed of 16, there is little that can out run him, making Kargoth good for chasing down fleeing powerful units that need to rest off their wounds before striking back later. By being a ranged Titan, and a frail one at that (by Titan standards), Kargoth will need a lot of support to function well - having him guarded at all times to prevent enemy melee units from engaging him. Strategy Overall ''The Race'' Units Buildings ''Heroes'' As soon as you see what the Dark Elves have to offer, your mind should instantly draw to the 'Assassin' conclusion. A Dark Elf Assassin cannot be outmatched at well... assassinating by any other race (although there could be some hidden compatibility and synergies somewhere). With all points poured into Dexterity and the Assassination skill, the Dark Elf Assassin becomes a fearsome hero and big creature slayer that should be avoided until you can swarm them. Until then, the Dark Elf Assassin has near direct control over the map at the start (given that there aren't tons of Army Setup Points) as there will be few counters to them until later. As soon as the enemy hero makes a big enough mistake and travels too far into the Dark Elf Assassin's territory, it could mean his death and his death could mean the game (especially if the hero was a support hero like a Merchant). Lastly, given enough speed, the Assassin can also chase down and Assassinate enemies too slow to run away (which should be most of them). The Dark Elves' synergy in Summoning Magic as the Summoner class is very useful. In particular, it not only provides Quasits to help boost resource production (even when production of resources from miners had been decreased in the 1.0324 Unofficial Patch), but it gives the Dark Elves a powerful flying unit that can be summoned in hordes. Imps fly, and deal a decent amount of cold damage - one of the greatest damage types in the game. Even Dark Dwarvern golem armies are pulverised by the freezing attacks of an Imp horde. Counters *In the early game, the Undead will have absolutely no trouble at all dispatching any Dark Elf player in the early game. This is due to a mass prevalence of piercing-type damage owned by basic Dark Elven units (Dark Infantry, Dark Archer, Spider and Queen Spider). *The Dark Elves, like most other Elven races require map dominance due to the fact that their builders cannot be put into mines. Although Phoenix really help achieve this, map dominance is no easy task. Destruction and fortification of Dark Elven and enemy mines respectively can put a damper on the Dark Elves. However, later on in the game the Dark Elves are capable of creating slave hordes and summoning Zombies so map dominance is less necessary later in the game, unlike the other elven races. Lore